Wendell Carter Jr., Gary Harris return in Magic’s blowout win over Spurs

The Orlando Magic picked up two victories Friday at Amway Center.

The Magic (13-21) not only beat the San Antonio Spurs (10-22) 133-113 for their eighth win in the last nine games, but they also had two integral parts of the team in big man Wendell Carter Jr. and guard Gary Harris make their returns.

Carter sat 17 consecutive games since Nov. 19, and 18 of the last 19, because of strained right plantar fascia — the soft tissue under the foot — while Harris missed the previous 11 because of a strained right hamstring.

Harris also sat out the season’s first 15 games because of left knee injury recovery following arthroscopic surgery in late August on torn cartilage, returning in the Nov. 18 road win over the Chicago Bulls.

Carter (8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 18 minutes) and Harris (9 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 21 minutes), both of whom came off the bench, were on an unspecified minutes restriction.

“Part of it is I’m going to talk to them to see how they’re feeling throughout the game,” Mosley said after the morning shootaround. “Them being out so long, you don’t want to rush it. I don’t really have an exact timeframe of what that looks like right now.”

The Magic scored efficiently but struggled with taking care of the ball (15 turnovers in the first three quarters) and securing defensive rebounds (11 offensive rebounds allowed) for most of Friday.

But they locked in during the final 12 minutes, blitzing the Spurs with a 23-5 run early in the fourth and outscoring San Antonio 39-24 in the quarter in a game that tied their largest deficit in a win this season.

The Magic made eight 3-pointers in the fourth, tying the franchise record for most 3′s made in a quarter and went 15 of 23 (65.2%) from the field in the final quarter.

Cole Anthony led the Magic, who had six players score in double figures, with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists in 30 minutes off the bench.

Franz Wagner had 21 points and 4 assists while Paolo Banchero recorded 17 points and 8 rebounds. Moe Wagner contributed 17 points and 8 rebounds while Bol Bol had 14 points.

The Magic shot 57.5% from the field (50 of 87) and 53.1% on 3s (17 of 32). Mo Bamba (9 points) made all three of his 3s early in the fourth as part of the Magic’s run that gave them a game-high 26-point lead.

It was their fifth consecutive home win. The Magic have a 9-9 record at Amway Center.

With Carter and Harris back, Friday was the first game the Magic didn’t have at least four players sidelined this season.

Three players remain out: Jonathan Isaac (left knee injury recovery), Chuma Okeke (left knee surgery) and Jalen Suggs (right ankle soreness).

Carter was presented with the president volunteer service award by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer pregame. The award recognizes individuals who are “committed to a high level of volunteer and community service.”

As part of NBA Cares Season of Giving, the Magic surprised a local family of five — a mother and her four children — with gifts during halftime. Among those gifts were a flat-screen TV, air fryer, driveway basketball hoop, home accessories and gifts for each child.

The Magic’s partners also surprised the family with a variety of gifts, which included $5,000 for furniture (AdventHealth), six Disney Park hopper passes (Disney), $500 (Kroger), one-year supply of Papa John’s pizza, $100 gift card from PDQ and a gift basket from Magic Gaming.

The Magic will get a few days off from games before playing the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday at Amway Center.

This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.

()